Tax concessions - an overview - Tax basics for non-profit organisations

Note: This information is part of our guide Tax basics for non-profit organisations. The information has been updated with changes that have occurred since the publication was released in June 2011.

There is a range of concessions available to non-profit organisations. Few of the concessions apply to all organisations in the non-profit sector. They generally apply to particular types of non-profit organisations.

Table 1 provides a summary of tax concessions and the types of non-profit organisations that can access them.

Table 1 groups non-profit organisations as follows:

• registered charities - including registered public benevolent institutions and registered health promotion charities
• income tax exempt funds
• other non-profit organisations.

The table refers you to more information about each concession.

For an explanation of each type of non-profit organisation, see Types of non-profit organisations.

There are also concessions for:

• public and non-profit hospitals and public ambulance services - see FBT exemption
• religious institutions - see Religious institutions and GST concessions for charities, gift deductible entities and government schools
• non-profit companies and live-in residential care workers - see Non-profit companies and live-in residential carers.

It is important to check the notes to Table 1, as your organisation may need to meet certain requirements before it can access a concession.

TABLE 1: Summary of tax concessions and types of non-profit organisations

Tax concessions	Types of non-profit organisations
	Registered public benevolent institutions and Registered health promotion charities	Registered charities	Income tax exempt funds	Other non-profit organisations
Income tax exemption - see page 10	1	1	1	Certain types only 2
FBT exemption (subject to capping threshold) - see page 24	1			Certain types only 3
FBT rebate - see page 25		8		Certain types only 4
GST concessions for charities and gift deductible entities - see page 15	1	1	5	Certain types only 5
GST concessions for non-profit organisations - see page 15
Deductible gift recipients - see page 30	6	Certain types only 6	6	Certain types only 6
Refunds of franking credits - see page 12	7	7	7	Certain types only 7

Notes to table 1

1. The organisation must be endorsed by us to access this concession - see Endorsement requirements for charities and income tax exempt funds.
2. Only certain types of non-profit organisations are exempt from income tax. Many non-profit organisations are taxable, but may be entitled to special rules for calculating taxable income, lodging income tax returns and special rates of tax - see Income tax exemption.
3. Public and non-profit hospitals and public ambulance services are eligible for this concession - see FBT exemption.
4. Certain non-government non-profit organisations are eligible for this concession - see FBT rebate.
5. The organisation must be a deductible gift recipient to access this concession - see Deductible gift recipients.
6. The organisation must be endorsed by us as a deductible gift recipient to access this concession. The only organisations that do not need to be endorsed are those listed by name in tax law - see Deductible gift recipients.
7. The organisation must be an entity that is endorsed by us as exempt from income tax or a deductible gift recipient to access this concession - see Refunds of franking credits.
8. The organisation must be endorsed by us to access this concession. Not all registered charities are eligible for this concession - see FBT rebate.